Pests are a common problem in households across the United States. From ants and cockroaches to mice and rats, these pests can cause a variety of problems, from spreading diseases to damaging property. Fortunately, there are steps you can take to prevent and eliminate these pests from your home. Here's our guide to the top 10 most common household pests and how to get rid of them. Ants are one of the most common household pests.
Different species of ants have different preferences, so it's important to identify the type of ant you're dealing with in order to determine the best way to get rid of them. Pest control professionals can help you evaluate your particular situation and design a pest control plan that will help expel ants, bed bugs, cockroaches, and more. When it comes to eliminating insects, pesticides designed for domestic use are formulated at low concentration levels. Baits intended to eliminate ants or cockroaches can be injected into crevices or placed in plastic bait stations out of reach of children.
It's important to talk to your pest control professional about any issues related to chemicals. Rooms with food, humidity, or clutter are more likely to attract ants, cockroaches, mice, rats, flies, and other common household insects. Keeping a house clean and tidy is essential for preventing an infestation from taking root. Additionally, there are other pest protection measures that vary depending on the room.
Bugs
and insects are essential to the balance of the world's ecosystems, but when found in places where they don't belong, such as your home, they not only cause problems by being a nuisance but can also transmit diseases and potentially cause serious damage to your home.Termites alone cause five billion dollars in damage each year according to the National Pest Control Association (NPMA). Insect sprays are not particularly effective in eliminating cockroaches for a long time, but with vigilant effort they can be eliminated. Locate and eliminate all sources of water and food for insects and eliminate any places where they can hide. Setting traps for them will also help you know when they reappear and will allow you to manage them more quickly and effectively. Mice may not be as big or look as unattractive as rats, but they are capable of much more than their size shows.
Even if you don't see them running around your house, a clear sign that there are mice in the house is their droppings which look like oversized coffee grounds. Mice cause most of their damage by leaving urine and excrement on household items and clothing although they have also been known to chew on books, pillows, and other soft objects. Since mice reproduce up to ten times a year it is essential to manage their population as soon as possible. In addition to making sure that they don't have access to food inside the house it's also important to make sure that anything they consider food (i.e., seed for birds) outside the house is also hermetically sealed in the garage or surrounding outbuildings. Mice can get through even the smallest gaps so it's also essential to seal any cracks that allow them to enter the house or garage. Homeowners can also place traps, rodenticides, or adhesive boards to capture and kill mice. Rats arouse apprehension in even the bravest people.
If you have obvious evidence of them such as finding them in your pool having the cat drag one or seeing them run around the yard or through electrical cables it's important to start the control processes right away. However there are other signs that you may have rats such as burrows in the garden or in a compost pile rustle in the attic at dusk or finding rat droppings (which are similar to those of falling mice but larger).In addition to eating food products rats also like to gnaw on wood wires (which sometimes cause fires) and insulation material which can become expensive solutions. Salmonellosis rat-bite fever and typhus are just a few of the diseases they can transmit to humans. To control the rat population it is not only necessary to eliminate food sources for them but also protect your home against rodents by sealing any space larger than a quarter of an inch with steel wool or metal sheets that they cannot gnaw. If they're still a problem it's best to set traps to catch them as poisoning rats could cause them to die on walls or other inaccessible places and the stench that is created can be unbearable and require more repair work in your home. There are many species of termites and methods for eliminating them from your home will depend on the type you have but regardless of the type of termites that have infested your home it is usually necessary to remove them by a professional.
To prevent them from entering in the first place keep wood 12 inches above ground level and properly ventilate structure so that it doesn't retain moisture which is a common attraction for termites. Some types of wood are more termite resistant than others so when building new construction select termite-resistant woods such as cedar redwood and white oak. Whether it's ants in the kitchen cockroaches in the bathroom or mice in the basement every home is susceptible to an infestation of rodents insects and other common household pests. By following these tips you can help prevent an infestation from taking root or eliminate existing pests from your home.
